Adventure?
by NattiKay
Summary: [OLD/OUTDATED] Miroku and Sango's son, Moku, and Inuyasha and Kagome's son, Michi, just wanted an adventure. But what happens when Michi's little sister tags along? And will Shippo's appearance ruin it all?
1. The Adventure Begins

Moku turned quietly, suspiciously, to make sure that his mother, Sango, wasn't watching. He wasn't going to do anything _bad,_ of course. He just wanted to have a bit of fun—but he was 99% sure that his mother would never actually _let_ him go.

So he just had to be quiet. He'd be back before she'd ever even notice. Besides, Sango would be busy watching his older sisters, the twins, or his little almost-four-year-old brother, right?

Right.

But he didn't want to go alone, Moku decided. It was time to go find his best friend, who couldn't be too far away.

Sure enough, he found said friend, Michi, sitting cross legged in the grass near his house. Perfect.

"Hey, Michi!" Moku called out, waving an arm energetically as he ran up to his buddy. Michi snapped to attention, his dark dog ears forward and alert, but then relaxed, breaking into a wide grin and leaping to his bare feet, returning Moku's gesture.

"Hi, Moku!" he greeted. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really," said Moku carefully, a sly smile slipping onto his face. "You don't really have any plans for later, do you, Michi?" he asked. Michi blinked, slightly confused.

"Um…no, I don't think so. Why?"

Moku punched the air in an 'oh-yeah!' type style, hissing the word "yes" through his teeth. He looked up, brown eyes and toothy grin equally wide, and said more clearly,

"_That_ means we can go on an _adventure!_" He exclaimed. Michi's confused expression immediately morphed into a much more excited one.

"An _adventure_? Oh, boy! To where?"

Moku pointed to the vast expansion of trees that stood just outside the village.

"Out there!" He said. "To the forest!"

"Really? Sweet!" gasped Michi, grinning. Then the grin faded. "Wait a minute," he mused, "What about Okaa-san? And Sango-sama? Won't they get mad, if we go out there alone?"

Moku tossed the thought aside with a flick of his wrist.

"Nah, we'll be fine. We'll be back before they even notice we're gone. I'm seven now and you're six, so we're old enough to be brave, I think. _Besides_, you're part demon, right?"

Michi nodded slightly, giving an awkward grin. "Somewhere down the line, yeah."

However, as much as Michi _whished_ that he did, he didn't actually possess any youkai powers at all, and he knew it. The only echo of his demon heritage were his pointed dog ears, turning and flicking at every sound. He had no claws, no fangs, no senses that extended too far from the average human ranges. He even lacked his father's simple pigmented traits, like the silver hair or golden eyes. If it weren't for his ears, he might as well be human.

Sort of.

"Then you'll be fine, right?" Prodded Moku.

"Well…" mused Michi, thinking about it. Then his indigo gaze lit up slightly. "…I _do_ have a sword, and Otou-san showed me some pretty cool strikes. I could bring it."

Moku nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! Yeah! Go get your sword! Man, this is gonna be great!"

Michi grinned widely, then turned to sprint back into his house.

"Ok, just a sec! Be right back!"

Michi ran through the grass, feeling the soft green blades tickle his bare feet. Upon reaching the door, he slid it open quickly, bustling in to find his wooden sword. He knew that the toy probably couldn't actually ever slice an opponent, but if he really wacked something with it, he figured it would hurt nonetheless.

Having grabbed the toy, Michi burst back out the door, heading back to his friend.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are _you_ heading off to so fast?" Asked Michi's mother, Kagome, as the young boy brushed past her on the way out.

"Playing with Moku!" Michi called over his shoulder. "See you later!"

Kagome watched him go for a moment, the ghost of a smile caught on her face as she shook her head slowly. What to do with that boy?

But of course, he was only going off to play with his friend, right? Northing harmful.

…If only she knew.

Michi caught up quickly with Moku, panting slightly.

"Ok, I got it! I got the sword!" he gasped excitedly, tucking the wooden toy into the thick green band of fabric between his shirt and pants. "Let's go!"

"Ok, great!" Said Moku. Then he paused, glancing curiously at Michi's feet. "Wait a minute. Aren't you gonna put on shoes?"

Michi rolled his eyes and flicked the question off in a similar fashion to the one Moku had used earlier.

"Psh, nah. Otou-san goes without shoes all the time. I'll be fine."

Moku blinked. "Um…ok. If you say so. Let's go!"

And with that, the two boys bounded off towards the forest.

They didn't even notice the pair of large, curious brown eyes watching them go.


	2. Tag Along

Izayoi watched as her brother and his friend disappeared into the deep forest. What were they, crazy? They knew that their parents wouldn't be happy if they went in by themselves! There were demons out there, for crying out loud! And, she noticed, Michi hadn't even been wearing shoes! She glanced down at her dark sandals and soft white socks. She didn't really understand why Michi didn't like them.

Looking up again, she realized she couldn't see the two anymore. _Good!_ She thought at first. _Let them be stupid boys!_

_But it dose seem like it would be pretty fun…_

Izzy quickly checked behind her to make sure that Kagome wasn't watching. Sure enough, her mother was still inside the house. Then she took a deep breath and ran off into the forest.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME!"

It took a minute for her to catch up with her brother on her short toddler legs, but she made it, panting hard.

"Michi, wait!" she said again, holding a hand out to her older brother.

The boys turned at the voice. Michi groaned when he saw who it was, his ears folding back in irritation. Moku, too, grimaced in annoyance.

"Aw, great," he grumbled at his dog-eared friend, "Why dose _she_ have to come?"

"_I_ didn't invite her!" Michi snapped back. Then he turned to his little sister, a bothered scowl on his face. "Izzy, what are you doing here? Go away!"

"But I want to come _with_ you!" Whined Izzy, her pleading brown eyes staring into Michi's angry indigo ones.

"No way!" Hissed Michi. "You wouldn't be able to keep up with us, anyways! You're just a girl! And a little one at that!"

"Yeah!" Moku agreed, crossing his arms angrily. "No girls allowed! You'd just slow us up!"

_Ouch_, thought Izzy. But if they wanted to play that way…

"Ok, _fine!_" Izzy spat back. "If you won't let me join, then I'll just go home and tell Okaa-san all about your little adventure!" She turned to Moku. "And Sango-sama, too!"

Michi and Moku exchanged glances. Crap.

"Ok, fine!" growled Michi, an ear twitching in annoyance. "You can come."

"Oh, really? Yay!" exclaimed Izzy, her expression suddenly brightening, her floppy puppy ears perking up as much as they could. It worked!

"Just try not to get in the way, ok?" Moku added before briskly turning around and stalking on, Michi right beside him. Izzy skipped behind them. She was actually going on an adventure!

"Sometimes, I _really _hate sisters," Michi admitted under his breath.

"Be glad you only have _one_ of them!" Moku huffed grumpily, thinking of his own two sisters, the twins. _They_ could be really obnoxious sometimes.

As the walk into the forest continued, though, Michi and Moku began to relax, tolerating Izzy's presence. Not much was going on in the forest, as it would seem. The chirping of several different birds filled the air and warm, orange sunlight filtered through the canopy of leaves.

Michi relished the feel of the grass, leaves and dirt under his toes, though he winced inwardly whenever he stepped on something sharp, but he tried not to let it show, right? He was tough!

The young boy looked up towards the sunlight, letting it sparkle and reflect in his dark eyes. The sun was lower in the sky, he noticed, and it would be getting dark not too long from now. But the warm rays tickled him nonetheless, many being absorbed by his very short, black hair and similarly colored ears. He liked that warm feeling. Izzy probably felt it, too, he thought, with her hair and ears being very close in color to his own, just much longer. Moku, though, with his lighter brown hair, may not feel quite the same feeling.

Suddenly, though, a shaky rustle cut through the chirping birds. Michi paused, trying to angle his ears towards the sound.

"Michi, wassa matter? Why you stopped?" Asked Izzy curiously, staring at her brother.

"Did you hear that?" Michi whispered lowly, indigo eyes darting around the scene.

"Ah, don't scare us like that," chided Moku nervously, though he also began glancing around a bit. "_I_ didn't hear anything."

The rustling came again, but louder, closer. Michi's ears swerved, then finally caught the source.

"There!" he gasped, pointing. "It's coming from that bush!" His hand closed around the handle of his wooden sword, pulling the toy out of his green band. "Whatever it is, I bet I can beat it with this!"

Izzy began laughing hysterically. "You? Beat it with that old thing? Ha! Yeah, right!" she teased, giggling at the thought.

"Oh, shut up!" Michi snapped irritably, blushing madly. "What would you rather me use, my claws?"

"But Michi, you don't _have_ claws!"

"_Exactly!_" The boy turned back to the sound of the rustling, wooden sword in hand, ready to spring.

The rustles grew louder and faster, moving ever-closer very quickly. An ominous shadow grew, beginning to block out the sun.

"Um…now I hear it…" squeaked a shaking Moku, looking at the circular, shadowy object came closer. Izzy squealed and hid behind the older boy while even Michi began to shrink back, cold shivers of fear crept up his spine.

The whole group screamed and cowered quickly when the figure finally left the shadows, a huge, pinkish sphere with humongous, uncoordinated eyes and an even more massive mouth, glimmering patches of rapidly flickering sea-green flames licking the ends of its noodle-like limbs.

"Hey," mused the creature, "What are _you_ three doing out here?"


	3. Kitsune Are Clever

_Pop._

In a burst of the same green flames which played with the monster's limbs, it transformed into a much smaller shape and form.

The new version was mostly the shape of a human, though the yellow, furry paws at the end of the legs in baggy navy-blue pants and the huge fluffy tail behind it said otherwise. Long, fire-red hair was pulled back with a teal ribbon, revealing elf-like youkai ears. A fuzzy vest covered the leafy shirt, with long, flowy sleeves dangling just over claw-tipped hands. Though it was only about a head taller than Moku, it's knowing green eyes and strong facial features suggested an age closer to a teenager.

It was a young kitsune.

Shippo.

After taking a moment to let the identity of the "attacker" sink in, the three children relaxed. Moku exhaled a breath of relief and Izzy snuck out from behind him. Michi blushed, his face contorting into a brief rush of annoyance and embarrassment that he had been so scared of only a friend.

"Shippo!" He snapped, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Don't DO that to us!"

Shippo crossed his arms and stared at the boy through half-lidded eyes.

"You have no right to complain at me, kiddo," Shippo chastised. "You three shouldn't be out here in the first place!"

"Nuh-uh! I mean, uh…we can come out here if we want!" Moku retorted quickly.

"Uh…yeah!" Michi agreed, trying to think up an excuse. "In fact, we're _allowed_ to be out here!"

Izzy glanced at her brother with a rather confused expression, tugging his sleeve lightly to get his attention.

"But Michi, I thought you _didn't_ want Mom to know!" she murmured timidly.

"_Shhhhhh!_" hissed Michi harshly.

"Oh?" Shippo echoed lowly, "You're _allowed_ to be out here?" There was a cynical, questioning tone to his words.

Moku glanced up quickly and Michi snapped away from his sister.

"Yes!" they responded in unison. A sly smile slunk across Shippo's face, a sharp fang flashing inside his mouth.

"Oh, ok then. So if you're allowed to be out here and all, then you won't have any problems at all when I go to the village and tell your parents alllllll about the _fun _you're having, right?"

Uh oh!

Moku and Michi exchanged alarmed glances. Now what?

Shippo knew he had them nailed. He turned slowly and began to walk away.

"Well, that's great, then. I suppose I'll go and let them know!"

"Ack! Wait! You don't need to go!" exclaimed Michi, waving his arms at the kitsune.

"Yeah! I…I mean, why tell them something that they already know?" panicked Moku.

Shippo turned, still smiling, and gazed up at the sky through those half-lidded eyes.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." Michi and Moku sighed with relief. "In fact," Shippo continued, "I have an even better idea!"

Moku gulped. "A…better idea?"

Shippo faced the two full-on, his face absolutely glowing with a look of false innocence.

"Why don't you all come _with _me and tell them all about your adventures _yourselves_?"

Michi and Moku leapt back in panicked surprised.

"What?" yelled Michi.

"We…we can't do _that!_" stuttered Moku.

"Aww, come on!" yelled Shippo gleefully, grabbing each of the boys by the arm and tugging them along, "I _insist!_"

Izzy bounded after the three, a mischievous look of satisfaction on her face as she watched her brother.

"Ooh, Michi! You're in troooooubllllllle!" she taunted.

"Shut up, Izzy!" snapped Michi. "You were involved, too!"

Izzy stuck her tongue out at him.

….

Meanwhile, back in the village, Kagome headed over to Sango and Miroku's house with a basket in her arms, where her friend was sitting out in her grass watching children play. She had to sort these herbs out sooner or later, and she figured she might as well have a friend to talk to while she worked.

"Hey, Sango," she greeted. Sango waved in response, smiling. "Do you mind?"

Sango shook her head. "Not at all." Kagome smiled back and sat down, pulling out some of the plants as three of Sango's children ran about the yard.

"Hey," mused Sango, "You haven't seen Moku around, have you? He hasn't been here all evening."

Kagome took a moment to think.

"Um…no, I don't think so. Michi mentioned that he was heading over to play with him, and I haven't seen either of them since. Come to think about it, I haven't seen Izzy for a while, either," she added as an afterthought. She paused, then glanced at Sango. "Should we be worried?"

"Hm…nah," said Sango. "They may be young, but they're not stupid. I'm sure they're just goofing off around the village."

Kagome shrugged. That did sound like something they'd do.

And then Shippo walked into the scene, grasping the arms of two very irritated boys and being followed by a bouncing toddler.


	4. Busted! or not?

"Kagome! Sango!" called Shippo. The women turned at their fox friend's voice.

"Shippo!" Kagome greeted in return, smiling widely. It had been quite some time since Shippo had last visited, a few months, at least. As his fox demon rank got higher, he spent more and more time training to get to the next level.

But her smile faded as she noticed Michi, Moku, and Izayoi being "escorted" by the kitsune, a confused contortion taking its place. Sango did the same.

"Ooh, they look like they're in trouble…" one of the twins, Misaki, murmured softly.

"Hey, Moku!" shouted the other, Amaya, who was naturally more outspoken than her sister. "Wha'd you do _this _ time?"

Shippo noticed quickly, but his sly grin remained.

"So I was out in the woods on the way to the village, see, when I suddenly met up with _these_ three on a little adventure of their own! I didn't even know they were allowed to be out there..."

"They're _not_ allowed…" Kagome interjected.

"What on Earth gave you the idea that they were?" Sango added.

"Oh, they're not?" Shippo gasped, though still grinning, his tone thick with sarcastic surprise. "They insisted ever-so-surely that they were…"

"Oh, they did, did they?" responded a very unamused Kagome, staring at her children. Izzy ran up to her.

"It wasn't my idea! It was all theirs!" the three-year-old announced, clinging to her mother's arm. Michi just laughed nervously, a sweatdrop appearing on his head.

Sango sighed, rubbing the side of her head with her fingers. That would explain why Moku hadn't been with the other three.

"Moku…" she stressed. The young boy hung his head in shame, blushing slightly with embarrassment. He had gotten caught!

"Sorry, Haha-ue," he mumbled, using the more respectful name for his mother to show just how sorry he was. Perhaps he'd get out of a punishment.

"Michi, just what were you doing out there? You know you shouldn't be out there!" Kagome chastised. She glanced down at her son's bare, dirty feet and a look that blended disappointment, confusion, and even annoyance. "Oh, sweetheart, you're not even wearing _shoes_! You could really have hurt yourself! C'mere, let me see the bottom of your feet."

Michi backed up quickly.

"I…I'm fine, I'm fine!" he stuttered. If his mother saw the cuts and scrapes he'd acquired on the trip, she'd certainly be more strict about him wearing footgear.

He continued to back away, although more slowly, keeping his hands up and a nervous grin plastered on his face.

"I just…um…y'know, I wanted to…" but his rebuttal was cut short when he backed right into something. He froze, a look of surprise and tension overtaking his face. Slowly, he dropped his arms and looked up with dread only to meet an intense, stern golden glare.

"So what's this I hear about you three going into the forest _alone_?" Inuyasha questioned with a grimace to match his tone, his ears facing directly forwards in a very assertive manner. Michi leaped back and around to face his father, his own ears folding back against his head.

"I…uh…I…"

Lack of response was enough.

"_Michi…_" Inuyasha began.

"Ah…." Michi mumbled timidly, his voice shaking slightly and trailing off towards the end.

But what happened next none of the others would have guessed. Inuyasha's scowl broke as he began to laugh lightly, then harder, then louder.

"So you finally did it, did you?" He said lightheartedly. Michi's ears took on a more relaxed position, coming slowly out of their drawn-back state, but still angled slightly to the sides of his head. He stood up straighter, but his face became very contorted with confusion.

"…Eh?" was all he could say. _He's…laughing?_

"I've been wondering when you'd do something like that," Inuyasha admitted, still grinning widely, as be bent down next to his son, a very amused gleam in his half-lidded golden eyes. "Takes some tough stuff!" He added semi-proudly. Michi perked up, expression lighting up instantly.

"Really?" He gasped, a smiling mouth open wide.

"Inuyasha, don't _encourage_ this!" Kagome interjected, disapproval and mild surprise coating her features.

"Psh, I'm not encouraging…" Inuyasha dismissed simply.

_I can't believe I have to do this…_Kagome thought.

"I was just _telling _him that…"

_But…_

"Inuyasha…osuwari."

Inuyasha slammed face-first into the grass with an alarmed yelp, earning himself a mouthful of the green blades, the faint taste of dirt, and an accidentally bitten tongue. Michi stared speechless for a moment, unsure of what to make of his father's odd punishment. But moments later, after processing the mental image, he burst out into laughs. Izzy quickly ran over to examine the scene.

"Ooh, Otou, you made Okaa-san mad…" she murmured, kneeling in front of the fallen Inuyasha.

"No, really?" Inuyasha snapped back, voice thick with sarcasm. But the conversation was cut short by a shout from Sango.

"Look, everyone! I think that's Kirara!" she announced.

"Kirara!" agreed Sango's youngest child, Keitaro, pointing excitedly to the sky where could be seen a large, flying feline silhouette.


	5. A Visitor

Kirara ascended gracefully—well, as gracefully as she could with two grown men on her back. Miroku was first to slide off, followed by a younger man that the group hadn't seen in a while.

"Hey, everyone," the monk greeted casually, giving his classic calm grin.

Sango stood, smiling widely.

"Welcome back," she responded, nodding to her husband. Then she turned. "Kohaku! Is that you?"

The newcomer's nod sufficed. Sango moved in excitedly, embracing her brother.

"It's been so long!" she said happily. "Good to see you!"

"Same to you, Onee-san," Kohaku replied, "Though, if you don't mind, I can't quite breathe…"

"Oh!" Sango gasped, releasing her embrace. "I'm sorry." Kohaku grinned.

"That's ok."

"Now, why doesn't she ever greet me like that?" Miroku sighed good-naturedly. Sango glanced over at her husband with an amused glare. She shuffled over and gave him a brief peck on the cheek, laughing lightly.

"Better?"

"Much."

The twins, who had been busy teasing Moku, suddenly noticed the presence of their uncle.

"Uncle Kohaku!" they exclaimed, running over to greet the demon slayer. Little Taro followed, and then, more slowly, Moku, who was still unsure about whether or not he was in trouble. Perhaps Kohaku's appearance had been enough to make his mother forget.

"Hey, Misaki, Amaya, Moku, Taro," greeted Kohaku happily, taking the time to name each of his nieces and nephews. "How have you all been?"

Miroku and Sango smiled at the scene, glad that their children were busy for the time being. They turned to the others.

"On the way back from the exorcism, Inuyasha and I met up with Kohaku. Inuyasha went on ahead, while I convinced him to come visit." Miroku explained. "So what did I miss?"

Inuyasha sat up slowly, assuming a hunched-over cross-legged position, his face still slightly reddened from its impact with the ground.

"A _lot_," he grumbled irritably.

"Yeah, a-LOT-a-lot!" Izzy agreed in her young squeaky voice. "Like when Michi and Moku—"

"_ACK!_ Shut up, Izzy!" Michi exclaimed, cutting his sister's comment short.

"Don't _remind_ them!" Moku agreed desperately, turning away from his uncle, who was still busy with the other three.

"No one _forgot_, Moku." Sango sighed.

"You all are still in trouble," Kagome added.

The boys lowered their heads in defeat, Michi's ears folding back submissively against his head. Izzy stared at her brother with a very satisfied look.

"Ha, ha!" she teased. Michi shot a poisonous glare her way, offense, anger, and shame brimming in his dark indigo eyes.

"You too, young lady!" Kagome amended in a very stern voice, glancing at her daughter. Izzy's face fell quickly.

"Whaaaaat?" she whined, dismayed at the words.

"You were out in the forest, too. You're just as guilty as Michi and Moku."

"But—"

"No buts! The rules are the rules, and you know what they are. I don't care _whose_ idea it was," Kagome countered ahead of time, guessing easily at the toddler's excuse before the child had even finished the statement.

Izzy's short, floppy puppy ears spilled downwards even more than usual, a look of hurt and desperation clouding her face. Being as young as she was, she didn't understand why she was getting in trouble for something that was all her brother's idea, you know?

"I betcha regret coming _now,_" Michi grumbled at his sister, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a rather cynical manner. Izzy turned to him.

"It's not _my_ fault that we ran into Shippo!" she whined. She sounded almost on the edge of tears—uh oh. An upset toddler was never fun to deal with.

Kagome sighed. She might as well explain the situation. Her eyes softened slightly.

"Ne, Izayoi," she said, scooping her daughter up and holding her up to look into her own face, their eyes mirroring each other's beautiful shades of brown.

"You're not in trouble because Shippo found you, you're in trouble because you went out there alone and without permission, no matter who came up with the idea," she explained softly. "That forest's dangerous…be glad Shippo is the _only _demon you met!"

Kagome's motherly worry must have been obvious in her tone and expression, because then both Michi and Izzy glanced away, ashamed.

"Oh," murmured Izzy quietly, eyes still puffy and just slightly brimmed with a possibility of tears. She snuggled in closer to her mother, suddenly feeling safer. Kagome held her close. "I guess I didn't think 'bout that…"

"Yeah," agreed Michi, looking back up innocently into his mother's gaze. "We just wanted an adventure." he explained honestly. Kagome smiled.

"And I can't say I blame you for that. You are your father's children, after all!"

"You're saying it's _my_ fault?" Inuyasha snapped, still rather irritated from being "sat".

"Your genes," Kagome dismissed frankly.

"_What?_"

Michi smiled at the conversation, glanced at his grumbling father. He ran over quickly, glomping a very surprise hanyou and ginning widely. He remained there silently for a moment, just happy to be there (and away from the topic of his little outing).

"It's ok, Otou-san," he said warmly. "I like being like you!"

What can a father say to that?

Inuyasha paused a moment, blinking rapidly for a moment.

"I…um…gee…" He put a hesitant arm around his son, then the other followed, relaxing into a calmer embrace. "…Thanks, Michi."

The young boy grinned, giving a short, light-hearted sigh of contentment.

"_Awwww,_" murmured Kagome, putting a hand gently over her open, smiling mouth. Izzy turned slightly in her mother's grasp to see the scene unfolding behind her. She smiled, too, but found herself yawning widely. The evening's events had tired her more than she realized. She cuddled back up to Kagome, ready to fall asleep. The sun was setting, anyways, the sky getting darker as the minutes slipped by.

Kagome noticed quickly. She scooted up to Inuyasha, tugging his pointed silver ear lightly to get his attention.

"Ne."

The hanyou looked up slowly, a surprising amount of softness reflecting in those honey-gold pools.

"It's getting late. We ought to be getting these two to bed." Kagome murmured softly. Inuyasha gave a brief nod of ascent.

The couple stood, their children still cradled in their arms. Izzy was slumped over calmly, pressed into her mother's body. The smooth, even breaths coming from the toddler telling that she had somehow already fallen asleep.

Michi, on the other hand, was still rather awake, looking lethargically over Inuyasha's shoulder as they stood. Being older and therefore bigger than his sister, Michi required more support and was no longer carried around very often. But this time was an exception. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck, clinging affectionately. Inuyasha handled the six-year-old rather well, supporting him gently, yet firmly, his demon strength making it easier.

Kagome turned to Miroku and Sango, waving a temporary good-bye.

"Good night, guys!" She said, speaking quietly so as not to wake little Izzy all curled up in her arms. The couple waved back.

"See you tomorrow," Sango replied.

And with that, Inuyasha and Kagome's family left the scene.

"So, Uncle Kohaku, did you bring us any weapons this time? Do we get to train with you?" Amaya was excitedly asking. Kohaku shook his head.

"No, no weapons today. But I'll certainly take you out training tomorrow."

The remark was met by cheers from the girls, but a bit of disappointment from Moku.

"Why tomorrow? Can't we do it _now_?" the young boy asked.

"Well, Moku, Kagome-sama is right; it is getting late," Miroku interjected. "I don't think we really have much time to train, nor do I think it's very smart to train in the dark, hmm?"

Moku sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Alright. Perhaps we should head on inside, too."

So the family went inside the house.

"Ooh, Kagome left her basket here," Sango mumbled absent-mindedly. She supposed it would be rather easy to forget it in light of the recent events. She picked it up and brought it in with her. Better inside than outside for the night, after all. She'd bring it back tomorrow.

"Shippo?" said Miroku, turning to the kitsune, who was busy petting Kirara, who had shifted to her smaller kitten form. He looked up.

"You can stay with us for the night if you want," the monk invited. Shippo shook his head.

"Nah, it's probably already really crowded in your house with four kids and a guest. I'll be fine out here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm a demon, remember. And a darn good one, too. Remember that I advanced to Rank 3 a few months ago? That's almost as high as you can go!"

Miroku shrugged. That was true.

"Alright then, if you insist. Good night."

"'Night."

**Author's Note**

AM78—Thank you. :) The main reason for the uneventfulness and the shorter chapters (though this one has been the longest by far, hahaha) is because this story is based on a fancomic I did a while back. All the scenes were already plotted in drawings and trying to extend each page (sometimes a little more than a page, sometimes a little less) into a decent-length chapter was difficult. I had to add some things and change other around…for example, in the comic Michi doesn't mention his toy sword, and nothing is said about his feet (though he still wasn't wearing shoes.) However, with this chapter, the span of the comic is over, so now I can branch from it a bit more. And don't worry…I am planning some more interesting events soon!

As far as Michi's powers go, or lack thereof, believe me, I've put a lot of thought into this. When most people make offspring characters for InuKag, they seem to put a lot of emphasis on them being 25% demon and kind of set aside the fact that they are also _75% human. _Now, I'm not saying it's impossible for them to possess any demon characteristics, it totally is, but the chances of them being more human and definitely dominant to the chances of them being closer to hanyou like Inuyasha (it's a huge pet peeve of mine when people describe Inuyasha and Kagome's kids as hanyou…they're not, and they could never be!) When designing Michi and Izzy, I really wanted them both to have the dog ears, as many fans do, but after thinking about that, I wondered if there would be enough demon blood in them to even give them such a trait. I thought about it for a while, and then decided that it would be, but only provided they had little to no other demonic attributes. After all, I don't know the specific numbers for the Akita, but I know that cats, who have similarly shaped ears, have up to 30 muscles just to support the ears and their range of movement. Humans, by comparison, have about 6. I'd say that adding 24 extra muscles in each ear as well as the different, distinctive ear shape and location—both for the outer and inner workings of said ears—would probably take up the usage of those 25% of demon genes.

And to all three of my reviewers, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I really appreciate you taking a bit of time and writing out those comments. :3


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